We seem to be at a critical point in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The TV screens, newspapers, and social media screens around the world are being flooded with the images of starving men, women, and children. Recently two Israeli organizations, B’tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel joined much of the world’s human rights community in labeling Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. Even the head of the pro-Israel lobbying group J-street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said recently that “Until now, I have tried to deflect and defend when challenged to call this genocide. I have, however, been persuaded rationally by legal and scholarly arguments that international courts will one day find that Israel has broken the international genocide convention.”
A record high number of Americans are tired of witnessing this genocide and are fed up with our government’s support for it. A recent Gallup poll found that only 32% of Americans support Israel’s crimes, among democrats that number is only 8%.
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani’s support for a free Palestine propelled, rather than sank his mayoral campaign sending shockwaves through the political establishment. It showed that support for Palestinian rights has now become a winning issue for candidates rather than a political third rail.
Despite this, our leaders in Congress still refuse to take action on Gaza. They offer only symbolic statements that fail to even place blame on the perpetrator. Massachusetts Congresswoman and House minority whip Katherine Clark said on Twitter “I am horrified by the starvation in Gaza. More food and humanitarian aid must be allowed in to meet the urgent needs of the Palestinian people. No more excuses.” Yet she is one of the many who fail to take meaningful action.
It is not enough to acknowledge that there is starvation in Gaza, members of Congress must condemn the perpetrator, Israel, who with US weapons and support has prevented aid from entering Gaza for months. Words alone are not going to stop Israel’s onslaught. Congress has the power to stop this atrocity by cutting off our government’s support for the genocide, and their failure to do so makes them complicit in it.
So far Clark has not heeded calls from her constituents to support legislation blocking arms to Israel. On Thursday August 7th, activists marched to Clark’s office with a letter demanding a meeting with the congresswoman herself and for her to sign onto the Block the Bombs Act to stop Israel from receiving some of its most destructive weapons. Over a dozen organizations signed onto the letter including MAPA, Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, and Veterans for Peace. More than a hundred individual constituents also signed their name including Professor of Holocaust and Genocide studies Omer Bartov and Rabbi Greg Hersch.
Democratic State Senator Pat Jehlen, whose constituency partially overlaps with Clark, joined constituents in delivering the letter. “I am calling for my party to take a stand, and the leadership of my party to take a stand against starving people to death. That is a very low bar.” Jehlen stated in her remarks to the crowd.
Clark’s staff received the letter and assured constituents they would read it, whether or not Clark will respond to the letter is yet to be seen. What is clear is that her constituents will keep the pressure coming. Members of congress who continue to stay silent or actively support this genocide will not receive a moment of rest from their constituents until either they concede to their constituents or are voted out.
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Sam Levine is a MAPA intern, undergraduate student at Emerson College, and organizer in Congressional District 5
